


perfectly imperfect

by pr1nc3ssp34ch



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Erica, Alive Vernon Boyd, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Emissary!Stiles, F/M, Failwolf, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Hugs, Indulgent, Jackson Never Left, M/M, Pack Feels, Squishy Good Feelings, The Hale Pack - Freeform, so much fluff help me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-11
Updated: 2013-08-11
Packaged: 2017-12-22 19:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pr1nc3ssp34ch/pseuds/pr1nc3ssp34ch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What the hell is this?" He tries to make it come out as a growl, but his voice just sounds a little bit hoarse, and he can feel his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.</p><p>Stiles takes one look at him and promptly bursts into laughter. "Oh my god, <em>dude</em>, you look like a kicked puppy, it's a <em>list</em>. Calm down."</p><p>Derek frowns harder at him, trying to convey his feelings through the weight of his gaze alone. "And the first rule on it is giving me <em>hugs?</em>"</p><p>This explains so <em>much</em>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	perfectly imperfect

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nashirah](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nashirah/gifts).



> So I was reaching my wit's end with this rough draft I've been working on for a Teen Wolf Big Bang. It's really full of angst and death and just, generally pain, and I reached out to Nashi to be wonderful and give me a prompt for some fluffy happiness.
> 
> AU where everyone is happy and nothing hurts. (◡﹏◡✿) 
> 
> Also I'm sorry because I sort of feel like this sucks but it hELPED ME FEEL BETTER SO WHATEVER
> 
> Edit: SUPER JOSSED!!!!! Most of my fics are so jossed. :(( Stiles can't be an emissary and Lydia is a banshee, oh god. Just pretend.
> 
> Title Lyrics are taken from Someone Like You by The Summer Set.

There are few things that make Derek lingeringly suspicious.

 

Any time Derek starts feeling suspicious, he tells someone, and he almost always tries to eliminate the threat. So the fact that it's lingering is perplexing, and mostly a little bit creepy. Because it shouldn't really be all that weird, should it? To have people, you know... being nice. He guesses  _other people_ don't think that's weird. Do they? No, they probably don't. He doubts Melissa McCall bothers to worry about people holding the door open for her, or something equally mundane. It's just... Derek, really. 

 

But he definitely has a right to be suspicious. Jackson  _patted his shoulder_ the other day. Derek can't remember a time Jackson has willingly and non-violently touched him before. Ever. And suddenly they've graduated to shoulder pats? Isaac hugging him wasn't exactly a surprise, and it was kind of nice, even if he didn't reciprocate. He just sort of stood there awkwardly. Isaac didn't seem to mind. 

 

Erica's always been handsy. He still remembers that time she tried to make out with him, when he'd first turned her, before he'd set firm boundaries. Except now it's less sexual and more... friendly. Comforting, pack-like, he'd need a thesaurus to continue the sentence, but it's something weird. Lydia ruffled his hair while he was cooking, which is  _definitely_ weird. But when he raised his eyebrows her smile was saccharine and her eyes told him he better not open his mouth. Allison propped her feet in his lap when he sat on the couch with her and Scott the other day. Boyd's been brushing shoulders with him in the halls. Scott awkwardly hugged him goodbye after the last pack session, followed by Stiles doing the same (albeit more naturally), smirking like he knew exactly how confused Derek was. Danny patted his back yesterday when he dropped the milk. Cora hasn't made a hard-hitting jibe at him all week, it's weird. 

 

He starts thinking maybe they're under a spell. A  _nice_ spell. Because for all that they've become nice and cozy with each other, it always feels like there's a wall between that and Derek, maybe because Derek's an adult, but Allison's already eighteen, the others getting closer and closer. It can't be because he's the alpha, because he and Scott run a good team as co-leaders of the pack, and neither ranks higher than the other. Yet Scott is consistently included. It just doesn't feel like... he knows what's going on. And when he doesn't know what's going on, his default is to get angry about it.

 

Except he can't. Because getting angry about nice things happening would definitely make him insane. At least Peter hasn't bothered to change how creepy and annoying he is. Derek can always count on that as the single constant of his life. 

 

So he waits. And he... contemplates what to do about the situation.

 

The nice situation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe it's not so bad. He thinks he might be getting used to it. It's been about three weeks, and Derek's actually returning Isaac's hugs, now. They let him sit on the couch, sometimes, during the pack movie nights he's usually not invited to. Erica curls one long leg over his thigh while using Boyd's chest as a pillow, and Allison, surprisingly, has taken to curling up at his other side. It was a long road, with Allison, learning how to trust each other. It wasn't really until he rescued her from the fairies that things became... okay. They're still developing, but he doesn't mind, that she's in their pack. And he doesn't mind the house smelling like her the way he used to. Progress is a slowly beautiful thing.

 

It's actually the thought that it might not be so bad that propells him into Isaac's room in the morning. He's been thinking about trying to train Isaac in scent tracking, because he's a decent fighter, but he doesn't quiet know how to use his senses yet. He's unsurprised to find Cora in there, though every single time he sees it, he regrets  _ever_ giving them the bedrooms up here and has to cover his eyes and glower at nothing for a moment. What he  _is_ surprised at, however, is the new paper pinned to Isaac's corkboard.

 

They both try and stop him from looking at it, but given the choice between having to see his sister half clothed coming out of someone he considers a  _little brother_ 's bed and something, anything else... it's not too difficult to see why he'd go for that one. Cora and Isaac go quiet after a minute, shifting awkwardly while they wait for him to read it.

 

Glitter. That's the first overwhelming thing anyone would notice about this... note. This  _list._ It's covered in glitter and little flowers, and somehow, Derek knows it has to be Stiles. Lydia would say this was in poor taste, and Allison isn't a list-maker. Stiles is, and he's also a little  _shit,_ hence the bullshit and glitter. It's a list crudely labelled "PACK RULES".

 

**PACK RULES**

  1. **DEREK NEEDS A HUG AT LEAST ONCE A DAY. COME ON, GUYS. LOOK AT HIM.**
  2. **EVERYONE IS INVITED TO MOVIE NIGHTS. THIS INCLUDES DEREK. YOU GUYS ARE DICKBAGS.**
  3. **NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO PUT ANYTHING ON THE SHARED POPCORN. FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, GET YOUR OWN BOWL. **
  4. **WE WATCH THE NOTEBOOK ONCE A MONTH. LYDIA, I DO NOT CARE IF YOU SHATTER MY EARDRUMS. NO.**
  5. **NO MATCHMAKING EVER AGAIN.**
  6. **NO HACKING PEOPLE'S FACEBOOKS EVER AGAIN.**
  7. **NO IMPERSONATING PEOPLE BY USING THEIR PHONES TO SEND TEXTS. EVER. AGAIN.**
  8. **NO CLAWS ON THE FURNITURE.**
  9. **PETER IS NEVER TRUSTWORTHY. EVEN WHEN HE'S BEING HELPFUL.**
  10. **DON'T BE A DICK WHEN YOU LOSE.**
  11. **ASK HOW PEOPLE LIKE THEIR MEAT COOKED IF YOU'RE COOKING.**
  12. **WHEN IN DOUBT ON HOW MUCH PIZZA TO ORDER, ALWAYS GO FOR MORE.**
  13. **TREAT DEREK LIKE A PERSON AND NOT THE BIG BAD WOLF. HE WILL NOT BITE IF YOU TOUCH HIM, AND HIS EXPRESSIONS WHEN WE'RE HAVING PACK NIGHTS SORT OF MAKE ME FEEL LIKE WE'RE ALL MASSIVE DICKS. MONSTER FUCKING COCKSUCKS. SO LET'S FIX IT.**



_Scott's Notes: Stiles, your massive crush on Derek doesn't mean_ we _need to act like we have one. Also you forgot to tell Erica not to hit on your dad again._

 

There's a lot of scribbling after that, and then,  _OH MY GOD SCOTT WHY WOULD YOU PUT THAT ON THE OFFICIAL COPY YOU BITCH_ and more scribbling. Derek is confused.

 

He's really, really confused. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"What the hell is this?" He tries to make it come out as a growl, but his voice just sounds a little bit hoarse, and he can feel his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

 

Stiles takes one look at him and promptly bursts into laughter. "Oh my god, _dude_ , you look like a kicked puppy, it's a _list_. Calm down."

 

Derek frowns harder at him, trying to convey his feelings through the weight of his gaze alone. "And the first rule on it is giving me _hugs?_ "

 

This explains so _much_. The pack wasn't being nice to him because they felt like it - they were only doing it because Stiles asked them to. Why he bothered, Derek has no idea, but he's more than a little pissed off. Why would Stiles do something like that? He thought they were past this, past fucking with each other, past  _abusing_ each other's mental states for kicks. That's the only reason Derek can think that Stiles would try and give him  _fake_ kindness.

 

Stiles is still laughing, and Derek takes a step closer. It's like all that suspicion has turned to anger inside him, and it's overflowing, focusing, zeroing in on  _Stiles Stilinski._ "Why the fuck would you do something like this?"

 

"Dude, sorry you like hot sauce on your popcorn." When Derek didn't say anything, the smile started to fade from Stiles' face.

 

"Why are you so worked up about it?" 

 

Derek held up the list, tearing it in half again and again until it fluttered to pieces on the ground, an indignant look crossing Stiles' face. Before he could speak, Derek decided to instead. 

 

"You think it's funny, that no one can be nice to me unless someone  _tells_ them to? You treat it like it's such a big fucking joke, laugh in my face when I ask you why - " he breaks off, staring at the ground, at those little glittery pieces of paper. Belatedly, he notices how close he is to Stiles, how he's been stepping forward this whole time. He takes a step back, hands clenching to fists. " - why you would rub it in my face like that, when I was just managing to get used to it." 

 

Stiles' feet come a little closer, and he wants to lash out at him, but Derek's anchor isn't anger anymore, and he's a lot more used to that feeling of pathetic sadness than true anger, now. "Hey, come on, I didn't mean it like that." Derek growls and he stops shuffling forward, but he does manage to look up at Stiles' face. His heartbeat's flat, his face looks sincere the way it hardly ever does. "I told them not to show you - I  _told them_ you'd take it like that. Where did you find it, anyway?"

 

"Isaac's room," he bites out.

 

Stiles snorts. "Damn puppy. Look, the stuff about you... it was just a reminder. The whole thing was supposed to be a joke, you know? A reminder because I was having some pet peeves. And that was one of them. There's a lot of stuff that carried over from the beginning, but you're not even... like that anymore, and when everyone else started looking at how they were acting, they realized it too. It's not like - "rules", that part was a joke, but - "

 

And Derek sort of realizes, as Stiles rambles, that he knew that already. That what he's upset about isn't the pack, because it felt real. He felt their bonds becoming closer. But he's hopeful, _dangerously_ hopeful, about that very last part. And he keeps pushing it away, because if he doesn't end up realizing it for himself, he can't mention it. Only now it's too late, and he doesn't really... know what to do about it.

 

"What about the end?" he asks, cutting Stiles off. He tries to school his expression, make it as nonchalant as he can. Stiles probably would see right through it if he didn't suddenly smell like nerves shot to hell.

 

His hand goes to the back of his neck and the other one gestures with his words as Stiles avoids Derek's eyes. "Uh, the last part? That rule's about you, I thought it was pretty clear - "

 

"Scott's notes. That part."

 

Stiles winces. "Yep, we're gonna talk about that, you definitely read that even though I  _told_ them to rip it off,  _why_ don't any of them listen to me?" 

 

Feeling braver than he should, Derek takes a step forward. "What about that part?" he asks again. Derek's never been known for his originality. Stiles tries taking a step back, but Derek catches his wrist. "Stiles."

 

"What do you want me to say?" His voice goes up a little in pitch, because he's nervous, and Derek's never noticed all the things that make him want to kiss Stiles, but he's noticing them now, and that's one of them. But he knows teenage boys - he was one, not too long ago. And he knows that their methods of teasing each other usually range into joking about things that don't really exist. So he waits.

 

Stiles swallows hard. "I, uh, might - look, it doesn't even  _matter,_ why are you - " 

 

Derek decides it _doesn't_ matter, really, and kisses him anyway, because if it was a joke Stiles wont kiss him back and things can go back to the way they were, he was fine with that, but if it was... and it was. Stiles makes a little noise, like he's trying to keep talking, and then he sort of melts forward a little bit, long fingers wrapping around the back of Derek's neck rather than his own. Derek slips his fingers between Stiles' on his other hand and brings them a little bit closer, pausing a moment to breathe. "I don't really mind the rules," he tells Stiles, who laughs right up against his mouth and then uses his blunt, so very human teeth to bring Derek back in, he doesn't ever want to leave this - this  _bubble,_ that they're in, he just - 

 

But humans need to breathe, and Derek can't keep him from that, so he presses his mouth to Stiles' neck instead. He doesn't want to lose this yet, this warm feeling bubbling up in his chest, and Stiles is so responsive, sighing and tangling long fingers into Derek's hair. For a moment, everything is soft and peaceful and it feels so right not to lie to themselves anymore. Just to give in.

 

Stiles, of course, breaks the silence by opening his eyes.

 

"Holy  _shit!_ "

 

Derek pulls away, frowning, but once he has his eyes open he notices it too. The knicknacks in Stiles' room are floating. Middair. Floating in circles, actually, slow, lazy spins around the two of them, like they're actually creating a barrier between them and the world.

 

"Uh," Derek says. He's verbose under duress. 

 

"Yeah, okay," Stiles breathes, "That might be a problem." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  _Three Weeks Later_

 

"Why does Stiles get to sit on the couch now?" Scott whines, settling in as Derek sits on the couch behind him, using Derek's legs and feet as a backrest. Cora takes a seat by him and Isaac follows her, sliding a hand onto her thigh that Derek pointedly ignores while she punches Scott hard in the arm. "Ow! I'm the  _Alpha!_ "

 

Derek kicks him. "There's  _two_ of us, McCall, and you're stealing my lines." Stiles comes back in from the kitchen with a massive bowl of popcorn, putting it in Scott's lap before climbing over Allison and onto the couch, where he curls up by Derek, barely touching him but slipping his fingers between Derek's so they're holding hands. He squeezes back once, acknowledging it, but gets distracted by Jackson hopping over the back of the couch to sit down on his other side, throwing a haughty eyeroll in Scott's direction. "Just because you're 'the Chosen One' doesn't mean you get the couch every night. We're keeping your head from exploding."

 

Scott turns and flashes red eyes at Jackson, glaring. "Like  _you_ have room to talk, Whittemore."

 

"Now, now, boys, play nice." Lydia strolls out from god knows where, setting  _The Notebook_ 's case on top of the DVD player and sliding the movie in before sitting down in Jackson's lap. One of her stilettos sinks painfully into Scott's upper thigh, and her nails dig harshly into Jackson's arm. "Just because Jackson went homicidal and cold-blooded doesn't mean he has to continue a bad reputation." Derek is suddenly positive that he can be thankful for Lydia's banshee status. Living with her as the alpha (he's sure she'd make it happen) would be a terrifying life. "That was one time!" Jackson whines, and Cora cackles, because she wasn't there and she gets to.

 

"Besides," Stiles chimes in, settling into Derek's side, "Derek and I have a mystical love connection, okay, I deserve the couch."

 

"Ew, ew, ew, no, Stilinski, I'll punch you," Cora says loudly, giving him the patented Hale glare. Isaac kisses her cheek in a show of solidarity. "Never talk about my brother and mystical love connections in the same sentence, ever again."

 

"Please do!" Erica chimes in from where she's cuddled up with Boyd in the loveseat. Boyd is stoically rolling his eyes. No one is surprised.

 

Stiles leans over Derek's body to get closer to Erica, in the process being very close to Scott and Cora, one of his evil grins spread across his face. "You see, just kissing, that makes the stuff float. But when we - "

 

"Oh my god, no, Stiles!" Scott pushes Stiles away, who falls back into the couch, laughing maniacally. "I already had to hear it  _once -_ never again, okay? That was the agreement!"

 

"Damn it, Stilinski! You never deliver." Erica pouts quite convincingly, but Boyd does something, or says something, to make her laugh, and the facade is broken.

 

"Can we get this over with?" Danny asks, completely calm and relaxing in the armchair, remote in hand. "I may be gay, but I hate rom-coms." Lydia is glaring daggers at him, but he avoids them like a champion. Derek is impressed with his resolve.

 

Meanwhile, Stiles is whispering crazy things he says he and Derek have done into Scott and Cora's ears, none of which actually happened. He's in like with a crazy person.

 

But Stiles is his emissary, the same way Lydia is Scott's, and he doesn't really care what scarring stories he tells Scott as long as he gets to keep him.

 

Even if, he thinks as the movie plays, it means he has to sit through  _The Notebook_ once a month.

 

**Author's Note:**

> You may find me on tumblr and bother me about anything/everything [here](http://pr1nc3ssp34ch.tumblr.com).


End file.
